This week's study we will be following our last two devotionals that dealt with why God allows suffering and pain, with a teaching on intimacy, rather than just having a relationship that always demands what we want from God's promises. This study will require an open heart and a careful application on your part to what is really being said here so that it is not misconstrued to say something that this teacher is not saying. I do realize that this will not always happen, as everyone brings their on belief system to decipher what they may be hearing, or reading in the case of this week's devotional. Guess that's why the book of James is so adamant to tell us not to all become teachers, as we will offend much by the things we say; and that often will bring great condemnation to know that you are misunderstood when you meant only good towards others. But nevertheless the Bible has been misunderstood from day one; and yet it still speaks its truth whether we like it, agree with it or not. Ok enough rambling; now let us dive into the teaching.
2 Corinthians 1:18-20 (AMP)
18 As surely as God is trustworthy and faithful and means what He says, our speech andmessage to you have not been Yes [that might mean] No.
19 For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us, by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not Yes and No; but in Him it is [always the divine] Yes.
20 For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.
Matthew 7:7-11 (KJV)
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
As we begin I wanted to point out these two very important passages of Scripture to support that the believer has been given promises from God's Word without question. This is very important as we can build from nothing stronger and more reliable than the Word of God. In fact, the Bible holds some 1250 promises given to all people in various ages, but only 500 that can be definitely claimed by the believer in this dispensation of time. Many of these promises concerned Israel and certain natural people and nations of the past, present, and future that do not specifically concern the present life of a Christian. Yet, without a doubt there is an abundance of promises for the believer covering every known need in this life and the life to come. The Word of God is the course to which the Holy Spirit travels through our lives fitting the pieces together that make up who God intends for us to be and what we are to do in this life.
As we read in Matthew that our Father in heaven knows how to give good gifts far greater than we as humans can offer to our children. Consider this if you will, regarding the subject of gifts. Whenever you are giving someone a gift you never give them something that does not identify with who they are. In other words, you would not give someone fishing gear if they do not like to fish. This would be a senseless gift that had no relevance to that person who had received that gift from you. In light of this I know many of you reading this have faced real financial difficulties; maybe some of you have needed a miracle in your health and have been seeking God on behalf of these needs. The Bible tells us that God knows how to give good gifts because He knows who you and I really are and where we are at this juncture of our lives. Therefore, from these struggles in life we focus intently on God's promises which become the place of our hope and concentration. However, when what we are hoping for is delayed [for whatever the reason] it can create an inward sick feeling as we all know by experience.
Proverbs 13:12 (KJV)
12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
This passage seems to imply that hoping in something that takes it's time to manifest in our lives can actually create in us a very sick feeling while waiting for that answer to come. Yet, I don't believe that should be the Christians perspective at all. Waiting is something that we see many times throughout the Bible regarding its characters, and will most definitely require the same from those of us who will follow these same truths in faith. Patience is one of the Holy Spirit's virtues in us and should be fully surrendered to by the believer. We have all experienced those times in life where we have asked God for something that either did not happen or did not show up when we would have preferred. I will give you an example: the last couple of years have been really difficult for many families in my church and certainly for many Americans in general, financially speaking. These economic times that we are currently in have not been experienced like this in some places since the Great Depression.
As a pastor I pray for my country and the nations around the world. I have believed for a great breakthrough for this land spiritually and financially. Yet, it has not happened to the magnitude in which I am believing for. America has sown charitable gifts of many kinds around the world and has run to meet the needs of every major disaster that has hit the peoples of the world. In fact, America has given to those who are hurting more than all the countries of the world combined. Therefore, this tells me that America will rebound from this season of drought because of the seed of compassion that she has sown to those in need. If it were not to happen than it would totally defy God's principle of sowing and reaping. And we all know that that principle will never change as long as there is seedtime and harvest. Some of you reading this today have been asking God for something that has been greatly extended beyond the timeline of what you would like, and quite possibly it feels as though the heavens have become like brass. Look with me at something...
1 John 5:14 (Phillips NT)
14 We have such confidence in him that we are certain that he hears every request that is made in accord with his own plan. And since we know that he invariably gives his attention to our prayers, whatever they are about, we can be quite sure that our prayers will be answered.
One must understand that there is something that consistently activates the ear of God when we pray. That of course, is when we pray in agreement with His will. Maybe you have been asking yourself why God doesn't hear me when I pray. Well, maybe you need to ask yourself this, "Am I praying in agreement to God's perfect will for my life." Let me nudge you gently into something here that you would do yourself a favor to pay close attention to. Many of us think that if I pray in agreement with the Bible or promises that that constitutes God will hear me. Well, that would be a correct assessment on your part indeed! But here is something else that rarely is understood and quite frankly because of that, many will refute what I am about to say. This of course, is that there is more to the will of God for your life than just Scripture. I can already hear some of you gasping at such a statement as this. Let me explain:
- There are the timings of God that must be considered...
- There are the seasons of God that do not fluctuate...
- There is also the place in your journey that God has very much orchestrated to which is just as important as some Scripture taken from the Bible that you are standing on.
Consider this fact. We are all at different junctures within this journey and none of us are exactly at the same place or stage in life. Does this nullify the Bible's truths concerning the promises of God? Absolutely not! Yet I will submit to you that things cannot be forced to happen if they are in disagreement with where you may be currently at this moment. See, God is a god of processes. And to be truthful here, you and I don't like the processes very much at all. Steve Whyte said and I quote, "Don't let the process interfere with the promise." I cannot point this out any more clearer than he pointed out in that statement: therefore, you can't reach the promise and ignore the process. Remember, the Word says everything in this world is based on seedtime and harvest. You can't have a harvest while failing to plant the seed. All of us love the spring season. We all enjoy the mild part of the summer. Howbeit, we despise the long cold winters. I imagine most people are glad to have harvest time come into their life. Who wouldn't want that! But do you know that there is also a season where there must be pruning [a cutting away of something you have grown fond of as having a close part in your life]?
It's easy to conclude that most people would hate the blistering Texas heat in August [I should know, I have lived here most of my life]. Did you know that in the hot part of the season they will flood a vineyard with water so as it will soak deeply into the soil, and for what purpose? The heat will drive the roots of the grapes deep into the ground seeking the water. So, what actually happens is the heat though it can be very harsh, serves to deepen the root system making for a more bountiful harvest in its season. Yet, I will tell you this, we don't like to have our roots go deeper because it requires processes that are very difficult. We also don't like to be pruned either. What we do want is the promises of God, and by all means let's skip over the process part! However, many of you have been asking for something that has been delayed because you are not in the right season. You want to bear the fruit on your branches, but you don't want the season of winter to which may be very cold at present, but it allows the spiritual sap of those branches to be restored as you lay dormant resting through that part of the season.
Some of you may still be saying to yourself that God just doesn't hear me when I pray. Listen to me. God answers in agreement to the season that we are in. What good would it do for God to send a flood in your field in the month of January? How destructive do you think it will be if God pruned the tree in the springtime when that tree was blossoming?
1 John 3:22 (Phillips NT)
22 We receive whatever we ask for, because we are obeying his orders and following his plans.
When we ask for something it should be based on that we are obeying His commands and following His divine plans for our personal life. All of us should know that there are commandments in the Bible; but did you know that there are also personal commandments that are not necessarily written in the Bible? What do I mean by that? I believe first off that we each have uniqueness and a purpose to which God is the designer. If we are listening to the Spirit of God we will hear personal commands for certain things that we are to do in life that are not necessarily written step by step in the Bible. Remember the true son's of God are led by the Spirit. Have you ever heeded to a word of prophecy that someone spoke over you? Most of you have had that experience and hopefully it was a proper one. Well that is the point I am making here. God speaks promises through His Word that serves His purposes regarding each one of us; but He also speaks to our spirit-man things that may or may not necessarily be written word for word from the Bible.
We are different individuals that have certain things that God has purposed for us to accomplish in this world which testifies to His glory in us at His discretion. Let me give you an example of these individual purposes that I speak of: Consider Mary and Elizabeth. We know that Elizabeth carried John the Baptist in her womb. Whereas, we also know at the same time that Mary carried Jesus in her womb. Did both of these babies fulfill God's commandments? Yes! Did both of them do the will of the Father? Of course! Did both of them serve the same purpose? No! Therefore, we must understand that what opens God's hearing is when we ask in agreement and according to His will and plan for our personal life purpose, not the all-inclusive blanket of promises to which we want to claim of them for ourselves because they are simply written in the Bible.
Let me give you an example before you tar and feather me: we all know there are many promises recorded in the Bible dealing with wealth. It has become very popular for everyone to focus on that area because our world requires such finances in order to operate. So it stands to reason that we would all ask for this wealth then. But let me pose this question to you. Do we not find in Scripture that there are many gifts? Yet, do we also discover that we don't all have the same gifting? Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Do all speak in tongues? The answer of course is no. Why? It is because the Holy Spirit is the one who gives as He so chooses for the purposes deemed before the foundation of the world, and it can never be altered by our own choosing. Now, what if I am asking God to use me as an apostle but I am clearly not called to be an apostle. Will God allow me to override His design and purpose for me based on my asking? Absolutely not! God made all things to be aligned as He purposed them to be. Period!
This would be like me asking God to give me another church because this one has become less than I had hoped it would be. I tell you the truth, God's hearing would go deaf towards my asking simply because I would be asking amiss. God doesn't answer prayers out of my complaints or frustrations. No, He answers prayers that are in agreement with what He wants concerning my life and the situations which I am connected to that have a divine purpose that God wants to workout. People generally ask God for things out of their discomforts within the place they are at in life. Too many people obviously ask for things that are contrary to Scripture; and then there are others who just ask the wrong thing because they are asking out of their need to get out of from where they currently are. Some people purchase lottery tickets and then anoint them expecting to become millionaires overnight because the Bible says He will take the wealth of the wicked and give it to the righteous. That sounds like an alright thing to do considering that that word is found in the Bible.
Yet, how is it that we can conclude that a person who has never been good with money would know what to do with large sums of it should he come into it by winning the lottery? There are simply people out there that God has given them by His design to be financiers of the kingdom of God; therefore, it would be foolish for someone else that was not called to that per say, to constantly spend hours dreaming and pursuing those things to which he or she was never called to do; while holding those promises to which speak directly to wealth and then sticking them in the face of God every day demanding that they manifest. The person who does this will find their years spent praying over things that will leave the heavens closed to their demise. Look with me over in the Gospel of John...
John 15:7 (KJV)
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
What I want you to understand here through this passage submitted, is that we are to abide in Christ, and that His Word should abide in us as well. This means we have to learn to abide in Him when it is winter time, just as we need to abide in Him when it is summer. We also must abide in Him when it is spring and when it is harvest time. You and I can't just quit living because of the inclement weather changes and seasons of our lives that we don't agree with. We have to keep moving forward without camping out where these storms of life have already passed; while remaining angry at God because for some reason He did not act on what we were declaring for ourselves in that place. People can spend many years barely getting by as squatters within the debris of what they want to miraculously be changed because of a promise they found in the Bible; while never considering that God may be wanting them to get up and move forward in faith to His perfect will for them that is beyond that promise. The Lord Jesus told us in His Word that my sheep know My voice and no other will they follow. If the Holy Spirit unction's you to move on from some place that you have stubbornly held onto even though you may want it to change based on a Scripture that you found in the Word; can you honestly get up and follow Him without arguing when He says to?
Isaiah 30:21 (AMP)
21 And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.
We must seek the Spirit's leading for our particular lives. Jesus was recorded as saying that He could ask for legions of angels to be at His side and they would come immediately if He so chose them to. But He didn't! We also find in Scripture that Jesus was agonizing before the crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane over if this cup could pass from Him as He spoke to His Father. Yet, Jesus said nevertheless, Your will be done, Father, not mine! We must remember that Jesus had a purpose and that is why He came here in the first place; and it could not be changed even though He might have asked that it could be accomplished a different way. Could He not have asked that God satisfy Him with long life instead of 33 years? Could He have asked the Father to place a hedge of protection around Him to keep all of these terrible things from happening that led up to the cross? Sure He could have, but He didn't, because He knew that God had a divine purpose for His life and therefore He only yielded to the will of His Father no matter how difficult the process presented itself. Are we not instructed to be like our Lord with purpose? It is the Holy Spirit that instructs us in the way that our purpose is to unfold perfectly that we might honor the One who saved us and called us according to His purposes.
The Bible tells us that the letter (law) kills, but the Spirit gives it life. I'm reaching beyond my ability to express some things here I know, but prayerfully consider it just the same. I wonder if we don't make many of the promises of God a law in order to design our lives as we want them to be. Isn't that what religion does, it majors on points until it becomes a dogma without having the life in it? And should these things not work out as we had hoped, we then discover that those very promises that elude us, also start this sickening of the heart as that hope becomes deferred over a great deal of time of waiting. Maybe this is the deeper meaning, maybe not. But I believe that the Spirit can take us through difficult things that appear to be short of a written promise, and then have us discover that His grace is sufficient in that place of weakness. I have always hated the hyper faith insinuations that left people worse off in life when difficult things remained in tact while they kept pressuring these same people to stick their head in the proverbial sand and just keep blabbing what you are to demand from God's Word. I understand the need for perseverance in our prayers and how we are to fight the good fight of faith. I understand the importance of building on the Rock and even developing an unwavering faith. But, I have also come to realize that there is a season for everything under the sun, and whether we like it or not, God is a god of processes that holds many purposes that far exceed our intellectual abilities in human form to fully understand.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)
1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
I need to close, but let me leave you with a few more illustrations concerning those who trusted God's answer though I'm sure they too had promises to which they could have demanded of God as well. Consider the apostle Paul as he prays three different times about the same issue [and I understand there are many commentaries out there that present different ideas to what may have really been Paul's thorn in the flesh] but what ever it was I doubt that Paul would have asked outside of a lawful provision of God...but Jesus tells him directly that My grace is sufficient in your weakness. Should Paul have ignored this and kept demanding what he wanted? There was also a time when a man prophesied by tying himself up with part of Paul's garment and declared that the man whom this apparel belongs to, the Roman soldiers will also bind that same man if he goes to Rome. What does Paul say? Why break ye my heart with these words, I am ready to go to Rome whether I live or die for the sake of Christ to whom I am devoted. In other words, he was saying the same thing as when he said, it is not I that lives, but Christ in me that liveth. Think about it. If we were to have someone come and prophesy over us like that, you can bet most of us would have taken that as the will of God to avoid a hardship. But obviously there was a different voice speaking in the heart of Paul that refused to take counsel with a possible promise in order to opt out of something difficult that he might have to face.
Lastly, I will pose the story of Peter receiving a vision of all these unclean animals to which he would not eat according to the Jewish Laws. And then Peter is told of the Lord to eat those things in that vision; and what does Peter say, not so Lord, I have never eaten anything unclean. Yet, Christ tells him that what He called clean don't call unclean. Peter had to be able to listen to the Spirit of God inside his spirit in order to override a religious law that he had always followed faithfully that was in print. The point in this whole article is we need to become intimate with our Father more than majoring on His promises as our primary focus as a Christian. That would be the same as me hanging out with you based on what you can do for me rather than the simple appreciation and joy that each of us gain through the close and intimate relationship we experience together through good times and bad times. Solomon was asked by God to request what he would of God and what did Solomon ask for? Wisdom: to lead God's people in the commands of the Lord, to which pleased God so much that He gave Solomon all the temporal things that most men would have asked for. Solomon asked in agreement to his divine purpose and that brought everything into focus while eliminating the things that he was not; although he could have asked for them to which by doing so would have brought on to himself unnecessary struggles and frustrations.
I hope you have extracted from this week's devotional the meaning of this revelation to which I have disclosed without misreading it through the wrong kind of belief system. My intentions are to empower you to move with the Holy Spirit into your divine purpose as He leads; even when that moving may require [for whatever reason] that some certain promise found in the Word does not necessarily manifest for you because of where you are headed by God's design. My question to you is can you live with that grace He offers? Or will you spend your years stalled in life trying to beg God to act on His Word based on a certain Scripture/s that you want to use to fashion your life with while trying to avoid all difficulties and struggles to which Jesus said in this life we would have. The true son's of God are led by the Spirit. Which then will be your focus? Will it be the promises of every provision for life that you can find in the Word, or do you choose the will of God?
Man is the only creation of God that argues about what it was created to be. God has a purpose and a plan for each one of us, and it will become difficult to understand if we try and manage those things with our human logic. Faith eyes are required people! There is a divine purpose for everything that God allows in our lives; and that promises to serve something greater if we don't resist or grieve this Holy Spirit who will lead us into our unique purpose within whatever place we might be at today. God wants relationship with you above everything; not to be your lowly servant following your every command, that won't play out to well for those who treat Him as such (Matt 7:21-23). There is a purpose in everything under the sun you can be sure. God is a god of processes! And these processes can most definitely put the natural mind on tilt!
John 9:1-3 (AMP)
1 AS HE passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth.
2 His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?
3 Jesus answered, It was not that this man or his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him.
